Chicago Bulls Thread

[Gedas]

I watched the recent Bulls game against the Detroit Pistons, and what I have to point out, how Gordon plays. He didnt put up a great performance, but what I saw was what great basketball understanding he has. He seems to be able to choose the best option for almost every situation and react immediately to any changes on court and make right decitions. Thats what seperates him from the rest of the Bulls. I dont know, maybe it was because I was drunk and it was like 6 A.M. when I watched the game here in Lithuania, but he still looked mighty immpressive and somehow special.

[bender15]

With all the bulls fans here... i would like to put some questions to you guys.

Why are the Bulls persisting with starting Duhon and Hinrich in the Guard positions? and Why is Gordon coming off the bench? (just saw the results of the last game

Duhon in the last 3 games has scored no more than 5 ppg while Gordon has been playing really well coming off the bench.
I know that his minutes are as much as the starters but wouldnt it make sense to play him with Hinrich at the guard and get Duhon off the bench to relieve either one.

What do you guys think of the situation?

D

[Dan's Brain]

Because the Bulls are winning, by and large. Ben Gordon has always done better as a reserve than as a starter. He still gets starters minutes, which is more important than the start itself.

It's more than just about statistics. Ben Gordon coming off the bench provides an important spark when the Bulls need it. That makes him the prototypical 6th Man.

If you really want to look at the stats, look no further than Ben Gordon's season splits as a starter and as a sub.

Starter: 27mpg, .388FG%, 12.8ppg

Compared to:

Substitute: 30.6mpg, .457FG%, 22.4 ppg.

[maes]

Bulls like to start out with Deng & Noc to get them in the game. If they can hit their shots, which they do most games, it will force the D to spread out and respect them on the outside. That's helpful for executing any offense. In just pure #s, when Deng & Noc play well the Bulls usually win. If BG plays well, they could just as easily win or lose.

During that time, there's no reason for Gordon to be out there if he's just going to pass to Deng/Noc...might as well put Duhon out there who's a very good defender for his size.

The thing that's unusual about the Bulls is that play very hard D even on regular season games. Offensive specialists like Gordon on most teams would be allowed to ease up on D like Michael Redd or Ray Allen, but on the Bulls everyone has to D up all the time.

That being the case along with Ben being undersized, i'm guessing Skiles doesn't want BG to drain himself playing D and then have to switch to full offensive mode as well.

[air gordon]

good points so far. i'd just like to add for some strange reason Gordon plays more comfortable off the bench.. even if he's still playing starter minutes. i just don't get it. Griffin or Thabo could start the first few minutes of the game and then Gordon comes in and kicks ass. but if you start him, he's lost

i don't know if it's mental or what but Coach Skiles doesn't want to mess with what works

btw- Hinrich needs to get his ass going

[maes]

The most worrying thing to me right now is the dancers the Bulls are representing to the All-Star dance squad. We've got way hotter dancers.

http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/dance/

[---]

On the topic of dancers....


Rihanna
Grizzlies Dancer (middle)

[Andrew]

The tough times continue as they're now 1-5 in January. The way they've blown a couple of leads before ultimately losing the game is reminiscent of last year, a habit it seemed they had kicked (or at least curbed) this season. Despite what Charles Barkley may opine they're a better team than this, though I guess even teams like Dallas, San Antonio and co usually go through rough patches themselves. There's still half a season to go but this is a trend that needs to stop sooner rather than later especially with February being heavy on road games.

[Andrew]

Seems they didn't have much troule holding onto a big lead against the Grizzlies today. Admittedly the Grizzlies hold the league's worst record but any time you win by 45 it's an impressive effort. Good to see Gordon perform well while getting the start. I don't think he should be back there just yet because of the way he's been playing off the bench but a good sixth man should be able to step into the starting five and continue to contribute when need be as well as being effective off the bench so that kind of performance is encouraging.

[Dan's Brain]

KIRK HINRICH!!!

No Ben, no duhon, no problem.

Great, great victory over the spurs. Big numbers from Kirk and Gordon, and 8 points, 8 boards and 5 BLOCKS from tyrus thomas. i'm pretty happy with that result.

[air gordon]

man i forgot about the early games because of the holiday so i missed the game. how the heck did they beat the Spurs without Big Ben lol. give thomas more minutes Skiles!

So much for the theory about Gordon staying on the bench haha. but seriously- there's a lot of pressure on Gordon now. Hirnich seems to only shoot well on the road, Wallace & Brown don't really give much on offense. so that leaves the scoring burden on him and Deng.

at least when Duhon and Noce were in the starting lineup and one of them struggled, the team had the luxury to bring in Gordon to pick up the team. now if Gordon struggles, the team will be in bind

i don't understand why Skiles wants to shake up the starting lineup (even before Wallace got hurt). the problem's not the starters- the team just goes through that shit phase and that's when the opponents take advantage of it. plus as Barkely is quick to point out- when you're a team full of outside shooters and the outside shots aren't falling, you're going to be in trouble

[Dan's Brain]

yeah, C-Webb would have been nice. might not have ever been an option, but a bit of extra stuff inside could have been good off the bench for about 20 minutes per game.

Is there anyone else like that available?

[air gordon]

i think it's possible that Shareef Abdur-Rahim will be available around the trade deadline. he's already been in a fight with Kenny Thomas and Sacto may fall out of the play picture

i think that would be a great pickup- he can score in the post and on the perimeter efficiently. not much of a post defender though.

he's signed for the midlevel so maybe a combo of Duhon/Sweetney (expiring contract) or something involving Brown (expiring contract also) could net him?

[Dan's Brain]

not much of a post defender though.

I can live with that while he's standing next to the best post defender in the league. It would be hard to see Duhon go, and it sort of forces Ben Gordon into the starting 5, unless you want to put Noc or Deng at the 2.

[Doobie]

This is old but im wondering if it gives any Bulls fans a chill down there spine or was anyone watching this game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEuKm7FXSAA

[Matt]

the best post defender in the league

Duncan? Garnett? Rasheed?
Anyways, Shareef has had an average season so far. I guess he'll never be the same player he was in Vanc/Atl.

[sucram]

This is old but im wondering if it gives any Bulls fans a chill down there spine or was anyone watching this game?

Wouldn't call myself a bulls fan but shit son. I remember watching that on SC.

[maes]

SAR should be a backup only...in which case he'll take all of TT's minutes, slowing his development. I don't like that setup.

Bulls aren't broken, they need to get a starter quality slasher/post-up or a starter quality 7 footer, IMO. Those are the two areas they are lacking in, reliable points in the paint or at the FT line, and height.

[Andrew]

Gordon's proving to be a consistent scorer as of late: 20 points or more in 16 of the last 17 games, seven straight including the game against the Bucks for a 21 ppg average on the year. He's also doing it while shooting 46% from the field which is a significant jump from his first two seasons. It's great to see him turning in a consistently good performance at the offensive end whether he's starting or coming off the bench. It's also great that in a time where a lot of players would publically bitch about coming off the bench, shot attempts or their role with the team, Gordon does not.

That's something I like about the core group actually. Obviously I like the fact there's talent there and they're winning more often than the Bulls teams of a few years ago but I also like the personalities and attitudes of the current squad. There's no malcontents as with other teams with young and talented (but often troublesome) players.

[Martti.]

Great comeback against the Bucks. Gordon is a starter lately.. Also Thomas.
His my favourite rookie, but he has serious foul trouble.. 22 mins and fouled out.
But 2nd in the league in blocked shots in 48 mins.. He has a huge talent.
Glad to see Wallace back.

[maes]

Meh...i'm probably the only Bulls fan that's not a TT fan.

I would have preferred Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay.
Roy vs Cleveland (one of our playoff threats): 19 points, 10 boards, 4 dimes, 6 steals

[air gordon]

not much of a post defender though.

I can live with that while he's standing next to the best post defender in the league. It would be hard to see Duhon go, and it sort of forces Ben Gordon into the starting 5, unless you want to put Noc or Deng at the 2.

i think it could work out too though i wouldn't call Ben Wallace the best post defender

i'm all for getting rid of Duhon- great attitude but sorely lacks in the talent/producti0n department. lately he's been scared to take a perimeter shot- i think 2 for his last 32 in 3pt attempts (lol wtf). opponents are pretty much daring him to take an outside shot.

Thabo has already shown he's capable of filling in as the backup at both guard positions. the consistency should come as the season goes on/gets used to the NBA game. he's a better fit then duhon anyway- he can guard multiple positions and better offensively.

Skiles has always been a big Duhon fan but him benching Duhon is a good sign that he may not be playing favorites anymore.

on a side note- not discussed so much nationally but it's well known in tobacco road and now Chicago that Duhon is a big time drinker. there are a lot of incidents about him getting t-bagged at Duke several times while passed out or him slamming down 1/5's of vodka in the VIP lounge in Chicago clubs. and probably this latest incident of him missing practice from "oversleeping" was really from a crazy night of drinking

SAR should be a backup only...in which case he'll take all of TT's minutes, slowing his development. I don't like that setup.

Bulls aren't broken, they need to get a starter quality slasher/post-up or a starter quality 7 footer, IMO. Those are the two areas they are lacking in, reliable points in the paint or at the FT line, and height.

i think it's Brown or Sweetney that would be traded to get SAR so i think SAR would take the starting position and then TT would become the primary backup.

the quality slasher/ft line guy you're talking about is Ben Gordon. and to some extent- Luol Deng.

i think we've had this TT vs Roy debate already hehe but have you seen thomas's last few games where he stepped in the starting lineup/got big minutes? it's pretty crazy. there's a lot of untapped potential there but if he only half "gets it" he's already on his way to being a special player.

[Andrew]

Admittedly I haven't seen much of Thomas in the games they've shown here but from what I've seen I'm optimistic. I must admit though, on Draft day I was disappointed that they dealt away Aldridge who I felt would have been a better answer to their lack of height and post presence (though perhaps not immediately).

Speaking of Bulls games being shown in Australia, we will indeed be getting Bulls/Mavericks this Friday. Coverage starts at 12 PM on Fox Sports 3.

[Dan's Brain]

Admittedly I haven't seen much of Thomas in the games they've shown here but from what I've seen I'm optimistic. I must admit though, on Draft day I was disappointed that they dealt away Aldridge who I felt would have been a better answer to their lack of height and post presence (though perhaps not immediately).

Speaking of Bulls games being shown in Australia, we will indeed be getting Bulls/Mavericks this Friday. Coverage starts at 12 PM on Fox Sports 3.

Yeah, all of 2 games we've had this year. (Not complaining, not complaining, not complaining)

Tyrus Thomas does play bigger than his size, which can negate the height difference to a certain extent, but Ben Wallace is in the same boat. The Bulls look like a small ball team, but they dont play that way. And i dont think that Thomas is the kind of player who can change the philosophy of a team. At least, not right away.

I personally don't think that Aldridge would be doing any better than Thomas, and i dont think that Roy or Rudy Gay would be doing any better. Roy and Gay would be battling Gordon, Deng and Noc for minutes, and the Bulls would be in much the same position as they are now.

And, on the Mavs/Bulls note: hooray.

and, on the Ben Wallace best post defender argument, i'll stand by the numbers and trophies. (but also secretly wish that i'd remembered Tim Duncan )

[Andrew]

Yeah, all of 2 games we've had this year. (Not complaining, not complaining, not complaining)

Exactly. However, it looks like we'll be getting at least one per month for the remainder of the regular season.